What School Nurses Want Parents to Know
After ten years working in emergency departments and intensive care units in large cities, I changed my night shifts and rapidly changing intensities for a new task: a school nurse. Since my kids were in elementary school and night shifts were no longer working for our family, I thought the distribution of patches and ice packs would be a welcome change from the chaos in the trauma ward.
God, I was wrong.
Limited access to health care and higher co-payments, an economy forcing more parents to return to work, and an increase in chronic pediatric illness mean school nurses are busier than ever. In fact, when I worked as a school nurse, there were days when my colleagues and I could see up to 90 children walk through the health room.
And we didn’t just hand out patches.
Calculating medications, following a health plan, and meeting regularly with parents, administrators, and students with complex medical problems are the norm. And our district is lucky to have certified school nurses in all of our buildings. Many school districts around the country operate at a much lower cost.
But as any school nurse will tell you, even though we are thin and often on our feet for eight hours, there are things we want parents to understand better. Things that would make our job of caring for your kids much easier during the school day.
1. Medical forms are critical. Fill them out.
In an emergency, accessing updated cell and work phone numbers for parents is vital because seconds count. Yes, we know filling out a new form every fall is a headache, especially if you have multiple kids at school, but please just do it and don’t complain. You thank us when we do not waste critical minutes to track you down when your child suddenly needs an ambulance.
2. Lice are not scary. Yes indeed.
The mere mention of head lice, also known as head lice, can make parents scream towards the hills. But, parents, if your child has nits, take a deep breath.
Most schools don’t exclude kids for lice, and you don’t have to burn your house down. Nits cannot jump from head to head, nits cannot survive without a person, and this affects people of all socio-economic backgrounds. So please stop calling the office because you heard that little Susie in sixth grade has lice below. Your baby is okay, I promise.
3. If we call to say your child is too sick for school, we mean it.
I am a parent too, and I know how much I hate it when the number of the first-aid post pops up on my phone. A nurse call means your day is likely to be upside down and we know that, so please don’t give us any trouble.
School nurses recognize your children as well as their teachers, and we can tell when your child is showing symptoms that could affect their classroom performance. And it’s our job to keep the entire school building healthy, so if your child has a fever or vomiting, I won’t apologize for expecting you to do your part.
4. We accept gifts of carefully worn clothing and new underwear.
In elementary school, accidents happen. Often. From kindergarten students who can’t find their way to the toilet to third graders who sit down on first base and rip their jeans, school nurses often struggle to find clothes that will fit different sizes.
Sure, parents can bring a spare pair of pants, but when a young child has wet underwear, it’s nice to be able to give him a new pair from the medical office.
5. “Thank you” is very important.
School nurses are the forgotten heroes of the school, and I’ve often said that unless there is an emergency, you won’t even know that the school nurse is in the building. But she (or he) is there, and they work hard every day to make sure your child is safe, healthy, and able to function best in the classroom.
So, go to the health room to thank you, or better yet, on School Nurse’s Day (this is May 8th of this year), send a card or a flower. Your school nurse will be thrilled to be remembered for the very important role she plays in your child’s school health care.